Clinchco: Story of a Mining Town

Description: Susie Baker. 1982. 16 mm Film.

This series of interviews and photographs (many from family albums) chronicles the boom and bust of a biracial coal camp in the hills of Virginia. Retired miners and their families recall the joys and hardships of life in what was once a company- controlled community. The documentary, which was originally produced as a filmstrip, depicts the history of black and white settlement, the suppression of union organizing with machine guns and hired thugs, and Clinchco today — a shrinking community of retired people. The film presents an historical overview touching issues related to labor history, African-American studies, American history, sociology, urban development, and the American South.